As played by Ossie Davis, this JFK is regal and staid, but he’s also something of an ass kicker. There’s no way that some dead dusty guy covered in bandages is going to take over the home. So JFK and Elvis team up to prevent just that from happening.

Sure, it’s a bit thin for a plot of a movie – at least it appears that way – but there’s a large chunk missing from the description. Because in a very real way, Bubba Ho-tep is about growing old, being forgotten, and being discarded like human refuse. The strange thing about the film is that it’s not just another instant cult film. The film has an emotional resonance that goes beyond silly action-horror. Although you won’t exactly cry during Bubba Ho-Tep, you’ll feel a connection with an old, fat, Elvis punching a mummy, and you’ll understand the anger and excitement in growing old.

Bruce is really great and gives a more nuanced performance (despite the fact that he’s playing a huge, Elvis with giant be-dazzled aviator glasses.) His longing for his life left behind is actually tangible, and it definitely leaves you to wonder if maybe this is indeed the way that Elvis is living now, because he was tired of his life and tired of his life of luxury.

But if the movie was all contemplation and reflection, I don’t suspect that I’d be too interested in such a weird thing. Because at it’s heart, it’s a movie about kicking mummy ass. The two men triumph over their own infirmities in order to conquer evil. There’s not much more joyful than that.

Movie Grade: A-

Video: 4 out of 5
It’s nice, but purposefully grainy. The colors run from deep browns to bright yellows, with little play in between. A very monochromatic looking film.
Widescreen Anamorphic – 1.85:1

Audio: 5 out of 5
A great grade, especially considering the indie roots. The surrounds get plenty of workout, with no scarab beetle scurry left unheard.
English (Dolby 5.1)

Extras: 4 out of 5
The commentaries: the track with Bruce and director Don Coscarelli is not to be missed. They cover all the bases of making an independent film, and in that way is a perfect companion to the Evil Dead commentaries. The “Bruce as Elvis” track isn’t great, but I guess it’d be hard to Vamp as Elvis for an hour and a half. The Making of Bubba Ho-tep is 25 minutes of pretty good behind the scenes, and gives some great information about the genesis of the project. Next are three featurettes which run about 20 minutes total, and cover the mummy creation, Elvis costumes and the music in the film. One of my favorite extras has the writer of the short story (Joe Lansdale) reading his very graphic (and funny) first section of Elvis vs. The Mummy. I’ll never look at Elvis’s twig and berries the same way. Finally, there are a few scattered and short deleted scenes, and some galleries.

Overall: 4 out 5
Bubba Ho-tep is the perfect combination of a film with some great work by Bruce and Ossie, and culty-action-horror. Recommended for all die-hard horror fans, and those who love to see Campbell camp it up.

So sick am I of the movie-going experience that I honestly cringe every time that I think about going to the theater. I remember the myriad of reasons why I actually don’t enjoy it. The prices, the people, the smells, the commercials. The one that always kills me is the bad sound. They’ve actually seemed to have gotten their shit together in regards to the picture – it’s fairly consistent. But when I saw Narnia in the theater, it was about 20 decibels too low (think about ten clicks of your TV volume remote.) I strained to hear the ambient sound and big battle scenes were less than impressive.

No wonder that my one future indulgence will be a home theater screening room. Nothing fancy, just a nice screen, a decent sound system, some big chairs and plenty of curtains to block out the light.

I can’t wait.

The theaters and studios have to get their shit together. When I’m looking more forward to the King Kong DVD, than actually seeing it on the big screen, that has to tell you that something is wrong. I really want to see that film, BUT I also want to enjoy it.

The Big Picture Blog has a nice write-up about the state of the theater, including links to some good resources.

Look, I know this is a topic that’s been brewing for a couple of years. Nothing here is new, just the personal realization that I despise going to the movies and I loves me the Netflix and Amazon.com.

Personally, of the X-Files, I enjoyed the monster episodes (you know, Home Sweet Home) significantly more than the meandering conspiracy story, but I think it’s great that this set is even an option.

It’s half the cost of a single season and it gives you just what you want. In fact, it was enough to give me a spark of idea regarding content distribution and how we should be buying these episodes… but that’s a idea for another blog post. In the meantime, checkout the Mythology set. It’s good stuff.

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More often than not, with these films I love the actors involved, the writers and directors. But from some hellish reason, the execution is like runny poop.

The Mothman Prophecies

The Beach

Death to Smoochy

Gothika

Dreamcatcher

Anything to add?

Pauly Shore is Dead is Shore’s attempt to answer his critics (like me) in an extremely self-depriciating way. It’s a mockumentary covering the death of Pauly and various others (including some very famous celebrities) and their reactions to this imaginary death. People lament and talk about Pauly in varyingly funny and not-so-funny ways. It’s a trifle of a film, interesting more perhaps for its celebrity cameos as opposed to its plot and content. But it’s worth a look if you’re one of those star f-ing, Us Magazine types. Or if there’s the remote possiblitly that you’re a really huge fan of Pauly Shore, Bio-Dome and / or Son-in-Law. That is indeed a very remote possibility. Of course, there’s alwaysEncino Man, which is sadly, the best of his oeuvre.

But there’s certainly something about Pauly that I just don’t like, and I’m not really ashamed to say that. I can only take it in short bursts, and a whole goddamn movie, even if it is just people talking ABOUT him, makes me a little queasy. Check it out, but don’t say that I didn’t warn you.

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Jason Swartzman plays Albert, a young believer trying to find out what a coincidence in his life really means. So he turns to Dustin Hoffman and Lilly Tomlin, who run an “Existential Detective Agency” and do their best to divine meaning and provide confusion for poor Albert and anyone else they come across.

I’m not really sure what to make of this film because it was engaging in a train-wreck sort of way. It’s a movie that’s pondering the existence of itself and the characters in the movie. Mostly, that pondering is for naught, because I Heart Huckabees really isn’t that good of a movie and treads quite clumsily upon the ground where many other good movies have gone.I’m thinking most specifically of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, you know, asking the questions, “what are we and what is our experience and life mean?”

To a certain extent, not the least of which is the fact that Jason Swartzman is the star of this movie, the film tries to copy the tone and style of Wes Anderson’s movies.Perhaps the better way to put it would be to say that the movie “apes” those others because it’s does so clumsily.

I Heart Huckabees isn’t that funny of a movie – it has a lot of nonsense, running around and non-sequiturs that are supposed to be funny (in the vein of Arrested Development) but really just fall quite short. Instead of inducing laughter and guffaws, it induces quite a bit of head-scratching and eye-rolls. And believe me when I say that the movie tries to posit itself as being philosophically superior because of the way that it synthesizes various ideologies. But instead of coming off as such, it comes off as presenting far too many philosophical conflicts to be enlightening in the least.

That’s not to say that I Heart Huckabees isn’t worth a rental, because it certainly is. I just don’t know what to make of something that really isn’t a “movie” in the traditional sense.

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As an adult, that really doesn’t change. And in the interest of nothing but self-indulgence, here’s a breakdown of the things I read, watch and listen to over and over again:

DVDs

Boogie Nights – “She’s a little whore, and a little piece of trash!”

There’s so much to love in this stylish and fantastic movie.



Glengarry Glen Ross – “All train compartments smell vaguely of shit. It gets so you don’t mind it. That’s the worst thing that I can confess. You know how long it took me to get there? A long time. When you die you’re going to regret the things you don’t do. You think you’re queer? I’m going to tell you something: we’re all queer. You think you’re a thief? So what? You get befuddled by a middle-class morality? Get shut of it. Shut it out. You cheated on your wife? You did it, live with it. You fuck little girls, so be it. There’s an absolute morality? Maybe. And then what? If you think there is, then be that thing. Bad people go to hell? I don’t think so. If you think that, act that way. A hell exists on earth? Yes. I won’t live in it. That’s me. You ever take a dump made you feel like you’d just slept for twelve hours?”

All movies (and plays) should have dialogue this good.

Ghost World – “Can we call you ‘Weird Al’?

This movie just kills me. Scarlett Johansen is gorgeous, every actor is pitch perfect, and the film has such a great tone: sad and funny all at once.

Books

Fight Club – “This is your life, and it’s ending one minute at a time.”

As nihilistic as this book is, I think it provides a measure of hope and control. There’s nothing stopping you from controlling your life but you. Get a grip and take charge.

House of Leaves

Still makes me wanna pee my pants in fear and strange head-trips.

From Hell

The only comic I wouldn’t mind recommending to my stuck up English major friends.

Music

Lost in Space – Aimee Mann

God. I think this is turning into my favorite album of all time. OK, maybe second favorite to the next item. How can you not love her voice and the longing in the lyrics though?



OK Computer – Radiohead

I know it inside and out, and always discover something new in the lyrics. Easily on the top five of best albums ever created.

O – Damien Rice

A (relative) newcomer to my list. Every song on this album makes me cry, and Damien (and Lisa’s) voice are so perfect that they’re almost unreal.



Led Zeppelin IV & Who’s Next – Led Zeppelin and The Who

Who can argue between these two albums? The essence of all of rock within 2 hours.

Runner Up: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – Wilco

Genius. That is all.

Things started off on a rather sour note, and continued well into the entire season. Angel was awash in the Pacific Ocean, thrown down to the depths my his son and continual enemy, Connor.

As is the case for all Wheadon developed franchises, the plot continued to twist and turn. There are a few standalone episodes (what in X-Files terms was “The Freak of the Week” ) but mostly, the fourth season of Angel was marked by a singular and distinct storyline featuring, what else, the apocalypse and the end of the world. In a distinctive departure from some of the previous seasons, the fourth played out like a funny and dark miniseries.

Speaking of dark, this is by far the darkest TV, visually, that I’ve ever seen. At times, the image is so abstract that only hints of eye sockets and forehead come out of the dark murkiness. At first, it was disconcerting, but now I can say that it’;s some of the most accomplished cinematography that I’ve seen in a network TV show.

All in all, an excellent, exciting and often times heartbreaking season of Angel.

The DVD has all you can ask for: some nice featurettes, a beautiful picture, great sound and very funny commentaries.

If you’re not an Angel fan, the rest of the seasons can be had cheap, and this season is well worth every cent for some good entertainment.

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